


In the City That We Loved

by Silverheart



Series: Bats and Birds [17]
Category: Batman: Arkham (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-18 20:50:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4719992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverheart/pseuds/Silverheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The fancy dress and the way dad’s had to be makes me realize how much things have changed. And how I wish they hadn’t.”</p><p>Barbara and Tim, dwelling on the weight of the aftermath of all the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the City That We Loved

_And the walls kept tumbling down_

_In the city that we loved_

_Great clouds roll over the hills_

_Bringing darkness from above_

-Pompeii, Bastille

* * *

Tim smiled when he saw her from across the room.

Barb didn’t do fancy dress much but when she did, she was a match for any starlet or supervillainess. Tonight, she’d opted for a sparkling blue gown, with skirts that fanned out over her chair and set off her eyes and neckline that stopped short enough to stay classy.

Someone on her dad’s staff had even done her hair up, too. She’d gone all out. Or been forced to.

Tim really hoped he didn’t look as out of place as he thought he did. Dick had dodged out of the Widows and Orphans Ball on account of living in Bludhaven. Tim didn’t have that option, being Gotham’s newest billionaire.

Fortunately, though, it was known he was dating the Commissioner’s daughter, so it shouldn’t be too much of a gauntlet.

He snagged a couple glasses of champagne and walked over to her table. “Is there a seat for me, milady?” he asked, grinning.

“I knew you were here,” she said, gesturing to one of the empty seats. He saw someone else’s name ecard there, but Barb snatched it and crumpled it up before he saw who it was.

Tough luck for them. He handed her the champagne flute. “Sorry, I had to dodge some reporters. The inheritance stirred the hornet’s nest again.”

“I heard. There’s all sorts of speculation on your personal life on the web.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “’Tim Drake, student’ isn’t good enough for anyone anymore?”

“Guess not. They dug up your MMA record.”

“You’d think that would keep the reporters off.”

“You’d think.” She took a sip of champagne. “The first time I saw you was in the cage.”

“Ah. And what do you remember?”

“Your shirt was off.” Her eyes flicked to his chest briefly, then back to his face.

Tim laughed. That was his girl. “It’s not the right crowd for that sort of thing.”

“It’s not the right crowd for anything, trust me. I’ve been looking for you all night. If I have to hear another political lackey try to sweet talk my dad, or _me_ , I’m going to punch someone.”

He caught a stylishly loose strand of hair and curled around his fingers. “I think it’s worth it to see you looking like this.”

“Look nice, do I?”

“Very.”

She took his hand and placed it on her cheek. “You’re the first person tonight who’s said that and meant it without pity.”

He frowned in confusion. “Why would…oh.” The shooting had been so long ago, not just in time but in events, that he didn’t actively think much about it. “They’re idiots.”

“Tim! Good to see you!”

He looked up to see the Commissioner come from the crowd and shake his hand. “It’s good to see you, too, sir.”

“How have things been going?”

“Pretty good.” He slept through most of his classes and still got As. He’d done it for years. He wondered if Gordon would ask about the reappearance of Robin on the streets. “I hear the campaign’s looking good.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Yes, though it doesn’t leave time for much else.” A young man came over and whispered in his ear. The Commissioner sighed. “Like I said. I’ll see you later, Tim. Take care of Barbara.”

Barb watched him leave. “I know he should be doing this. It will help the city. But sometimes I miss mac-and-cheese and cop movie marathons. It’s been years and years since we did that, though. Things move forward.”

“Do you guys talk much about your involvement in things?”

She took another sip. “Sometimes, and…sideways, if that makes any sense. He feels guilty about it, even when I say it was all my choice.”

“All in the past?”

That prompted a slightly longer drink. “That’s what I tell him. He doesn’t ask about anyone else, doesn’t dig.”

“That’s for the best.”

“Certainly gives us a bit more freedom.” She finished the champagne. “Let’s get out of here, Boy Wonder.”

“Not going to let your dad know?”

She smiled and traced a line in the table cloth. “He can get the chair home. It’s not the one I actually use, anyway. Something his campaign brought. I guess it’s more expensive.”

“As the lady wishes.” He looked around. He was pretty sure some gossip mongers had their eye on them, but he decided not to care.

He was about as boring as Bruce Wayne, they’d see soon enough.

He pulled off his bow tie—he hated these things—and scooped Barb out of her chair. There was some tittering. He didn’t care. “Where to?” he whispered.

“Up high. I want to remember how things were, once.”

“One of those nights.”

Through a combination of luck and practiced stealth, he got them to the maintenance stairway. “Why are you so pleased with yourself?” Barb asked.

“Well, I think that sneaking away from a crowded party carrying a girl in Cinderella’s dress is a new height to my stealth abilities.”

“You wear bright red in the middle of the night. I’m less conspicuous than _that_.”

“You’re the one who’s shedding glitter.”

She laughed and nestled her head against his shoulder. “Just climb.”

He carried her up the stairs, glad they didn’t run into any of the hotel’s staff along the way. Barb needed quiet and distance. He backed them through the thankfully unlocked door at the top of the stairs, and into the warm Gotham night.

“I miss this view,” Barb said, “I miss the feel of the wind. Go the edge.”

He carried her over towards the center of the city. She braced herself on his shoulder so she sat higher in his arms. He watched her watch the horizon. His arms ached, but it was worth it to see her smile like that. She hadn’t, not that way, in a long, long time.

“I wish things had never changed,” she said, sinking back down again, “I wish all the awfulness had never happened and we were invincible again.”

He sank down to the ground, finally taking her weight off his upper body. Barb was heavier with muscle than anyone else would guess. “Except we weren’t.”

“But for a little while, we were so sure we were.” She kissed him, then, slow and gentle and with the weight of memories in the taste of her.

When they broke apart, Tim rested his head on hers. He wished he could make it better, bring back everything that had been lost.

He laughed as a thought crossed his mind. “Hmm. What is it?” Barb asked.

“If I could, I’d bring everything together. Every _one_. I can just imagine it…” He threw his head back and grinned at the sky, at the dream of it all. “Bruce lecturing before patrol, Dick refusing to sit still or shut up, Jason being bloodthirsty and sarcastic, Alfred trying to make sure everyone’s properly hydrated because we always forget…”

“…you and I, flying again.”

“Yeah.”

She curled into him as much as she could. “It _is_ just one of those nights, I guess. The fancy dress and the way dad’s had to be makes me realize how much things have changed. And how I wish they hadn’t.”

“I know. Trust me, I know. I was there with you for it, and I’m here now, and I’ll stay with you for what’s to come, I promise.”

“I…thank you, Tim. I love you, you know that?”

His heart took on a new rhythm and his mouth went dry. “I love you, too.” They hadn’t said that before. He couldn’t think of why now.

They watched the ever-starless Gotham sky together, breathing falling into synch, for a moment of peace.


End file.
